Australian Open women's final: Aryna Sabalenka eyes a third straight title against Madison Keys

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka hopes to do something no woman has in more than a quarter of a century: win a third consecutive Australian Open championship.

Madison Keys hopes to do something she never has: win a Grand Slam trophy.

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, and Keys, a 29-year-old from the United States, play each other on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. EST) in the women's final at Melbourne Park.

For Sabalenka, this is a chance to add to the titles she won on the hard courts of the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, plus the one she claimed at the U.S. Open last September.

She is seeded No. 1 and is 11-0 in 2025.

For Keys, this will be her second appearance in a Grand Slam final, after finishing as the runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Open.

She is seeded No. 19 and is on an 11-match winning streak, including an upset of No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals on Thursday.

The Australian Open men's final is Sunday, with defending champion Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev. Sinner is seeded No. 1, Zverev No. 2.

Sinner eliminated American Ben Shelton in the semifinals, while Zverev advanced when Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of an injury.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a forehand return to Paula Badosa of Spain during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Madison Keys of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, early Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/1/1282825